Judge slams �giggling� prosecutor
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday June 3, 2014 16:39
Mothobi’s anger was sparked when the prosecutor appeared to laugh in the middle of his tongue-lashing, in a case involving a murder.
“Why do you think this is funny? I hope that no members of the press are present in this court today,” said Mothobi.
“I fail to understand why prosecutors come to court unprepared and often agree to stand in for others on matters that they have no idea of only to waste time and government resources,” he said.
Mothobi was stunned to find out that the suspect, who was appearing for status hearing of his pending trial, was out on bail for murder.
It was also apparent the prosecutor was clueless as to the date the suspect was granted bail and failed to account for the reason for the bail. The murder suspect had earlier said he was not aware of the defence lawyer assigned to his case and revealed that he was on bail although he failed to give the exact date it was granted. It emerged that the prosecutor in the matter was standing in for a colleague.
In an earlier matter, Mothobi again questioned why prosecutors asked their colleagues to stand in for them on important cases without valid reasons. “Some of you like to stand in for others without properly asking why,” he said. “A lot of you gladly accept (cases) based on friendships not knowing that it (is) a waste of the court’s time.
“If your name is in the registrar and you are supposed to appear before court, do so unless there is a valid reason and you have communicated with court well on time,” said Mothobi. He told court that prosecutors should desist from taking their duties for granted as they are hired on the basis that they will conduct them diligently without being pushed to do so.
Mothobi’s outburst is the latest in a string of attacks against the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by judges.
Most recently, a Court of Appeal bench blasted the DPP for failing to do its job properly thus allowing criminals to get off the hook for serious charges such as attempted murder.
In that instance, the matter involved a convict who was appealing his sentence for armed robbery.
Dismissing the case, the Court of Appeal said the armed robber should also have been charged with attempted murder.